Sulawesi's Rare Ones Were Out Today

Sulawesi diving is famous for its incredible marine biodiversity. While diving this morning at Gorontalo?s Shadowlands dive site, rare to uncommon marine life kept appearing. In addition to countless other nudibranchs, a large Halgerda sp. that is only known from northern Sulawesi clung to the deep wall. It looks like yellow-topped white tents splattered with large black spots. It is not yet described scientifically. The uncommon Leopard puffer (Canthigaster leoparda) hurried out of the third cave. Its limited range is Christmas Island, the Philippines and Indonesia (Moluccas). In front of the cut in the wall, a male Vlaming?s unicornfish (Naso vlamingii) displayed its spectacular blue tail filaments for all to see. This is the only location among various Gorontalo dive sites where it stays. Then, in the slanted cave inside the cut, a pair of rare Lantern puffers (Canthigaster epilampra) hid from the dive light behind a net fan. Why so shy? Sulawesi diving satisfies again!

In the Twilight

Miguel’s Diving can often customize diving to the desire of our guests. That was the case yesterday. Upon request, we did a late afternoon dive at the ever-popular Traffic Jam dive site. At this time of the year, it often rains in the afternoons. We arrived at the dive site in a driving rain. We descended into the warm ocean. Light conditions were very dim. The sheer coral wall took on an eerie glow. At 30 meters and below, huge gorgonian sea fans with polyps extended, shimmered in the remaining light. Visibility was an ethereal 30 meters. When we surfaced, the rain had stopped, leaving silky smooth seas. On the way back to Gorontalo City, the setting sun turned the ocean a light lavender.

Tauchen in Gorontalo

Michael Bode?s web page on diving in Southeast Asia now includes information on Gorontalo diving in German linked to his Sulawesi diving page. The text is also available in English. It gives practical information plus simple descriptions of dive sites and includes a few pictures from Gorontalo. Danke sch?Michael!

Whales Here Have a Taste for Tuna

Cuvier’s Beaked Whales (Ziphius cavirostris) have been sighted five days in a row off the point where Miguel’s Diving takes guests for diving. Our staff and local fishermen report seeing one, three, and over five whales at a time. These whales appear when schools of yellowfin tuna run along this section of the vast Tomini Bay. Fishermen say that when a whale finds the school of deep-water tuna, it signals others with a “voice” that sounds like blowing through a pipe. In the days that follow the first sighting, more whales appear. The tuna then start fleeing to the point that some even beach themselves, trying to avoid being eaten.

In Gorontalo local fishermen catch one tuna at a time by hand line. But when Cuvier’s Beaked Whales are around, many times the only thing a fisherman pulls in is the tuna’s head and a few bones. Even the eyes have been eaten! Two days ago a fisherman landed half a tuna weighing 40 kilos; a whale had eaten the rest.

Cuvier’s Beaked Whales in Indo-Pacific waters are distinctly brown. They have an under slung, goose-like mouth with two teeth protruding from the bottom lip. Adults are about six to seven meters in length. Before diving, they will arch their backs steeply. Dives last between 20 and 40 minutes and are very deep. They are only seen close to land where the continental shelf is narrow and coastal waters deep. Tomini Bay certainly qualifies with depths of over 4,000 meters. These whales typically eat deep-sea squid. And obviously tuna, fillet-style!

Indonesia's New Visa Policy

Miguel's Diving has received notification regarding Indonesia?s new visitor visa requirements that will go into effect on 1 February 2004. We understand that citizens of eleven countries that offer visa-free travel to Indonesians will be exempt from this new policy. These countries are Brunei, Chile, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Macau, Morocco, Peru, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

We hear that the new "pay and go" visa mentioned below will only be available to citizens of certain countries. The list we have received is:
Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, South Africa, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates, and USA.

Citizens from countries not listed will have to apply for a visa in from an Indonesian Embassy. Please verify how this new policy will affect you with your country?s embassy. The following information sheet from the American Consular is quoted in its entirety.

Subject: CONSULAR INFORMATION SHEET -- INDONESIA

Attached please find information on changes in Indonesia visa regulations for American citizens, from the updated Consular Information Sheet for Indonesia, released Jan. 13, 2004. This may be of particular interest to people planning travel to Indonesia after Feb. 01, 2004.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS: A passport valid for at least six months and an onward/return ticket are required. As of February 1, 2004 all American visitors to Indonesia will need to obtain a visa. Travelers may apply for a visa at the Indonesian Embassy in Washington, D.C. or at the airport upon arrival.

Visitors may be granted a 3-day visa for a fee of $3 or a 30-day visa for a fee of $25. Both visas are non-extendable, and travelers must exit the country for at least two weeks before they can return. A visitor's visa for business purposes and social/cultural stays of longer duration require a letter of intent/sponsorship from the employer and/or sponsor. For up-to-date information, contact the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia: 7 Chatsworth Road, Singapore; main tel: 6737 7422.

Indonesia strictly enforces its immigration/visa requirements. Several Westerners, including Americans, have been jailed for visa violations. Violators may also be subject to substantial fines. Please consult the Criminal Penalties section below for further information.

In an effort to prevent international child abduction, many governments have initiated procedures at entry/exit points. These often include requiring documentary evidence of relationship and permission for the child's travel from the parent(s) or legal guardian if not present. Having such documentation on hand, even if not required, may facilitate entry/departure.

To see the complete CIS for Indonesia, please visit this link at the State Department's Travelers Information website: http://www.travel.state.gov/Indonesia.html

Glorious Weather for Sulawesi Diving

The weather has been typical for dive season here in Gorontalo. The seas today were incredibly calm with barely a ripple. Flying fish fleeing the dive boat sailed quite far before dropping back into silky smooth waters. The reef sparkled in the sunlight. Looking up from 18 meters, the entire dive boat was clearly visible, including the canvas awning that shades divers and crew. In the late afternoon, there were a few scattered showers in-land, lasting less than half an hour. Glorious weather for diving in Sulawesi!

Latest Sightings

Miguel?s Diving staff report these sightings from dive trips over the last few days:

? Pod of eight dolphin (probably Bottlenose) rest on the surface
? Two sea turtles swim under the boat, one a meter across
? Our colony of Pink-eye gobies have had babies
? Damsels chase huge Humphead parrotfish away from nest
? Boxer crab found at yet another dive site
? Pair of rarely seen Five-line coral gobies (Gobiodon quinquestrigatus) located
? Now we know why the Twinspot chromis (Chromis elerae), considered to be uncommon, is so common in Gorontalo: spawning!

Surface Intervals are Great, too!

You know it’s going to be an interesting dive when your backward roll lands you in the middle of a school of feeding fusiliers. The Honeycomb dive site is known for the holes in its vertical wall with sand inside, harboring the beautiful Sailfin shrimp goby (Amblyeleotris randalli) and its crustacean pal. Today I found several before being buzzed by a Giant trevally (Caranx ignobilis). A Hawksbill turtle glided down the wall. A large squadron of Humphead parrotfish (Bolbometopon muricatum) literally dive-bombed me. More than a few spewed me with the residue from yesterday’s meal, leaving streams of falling “particulate matter” in their wake.

During the surface interval, we pulled into a fishing village and watched the locals land their tiny canoes, which are just big enough to hold one fish. That fish is the Yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares), now running in deep Gorontalo waters. Residents hauled the meter-long tuna by stretcher to the shaded area where it was quickly filleted and its valuable meat put on ice, ready for export. The cleaned meat was weighing 70 – 80 kilos per fish. A lone fisherman with his hand line and no reel landed it. They brought in about six while we were there.

One of the highlights of the second dive was seeing a Redface dwarf goby (Trimma benjamini), a beautiful new species. It is solid orange with a large white ring around each eye. It is sometimes called Ring-eye pygmy goby. As I was watching this tiny fish, something cast a shadow around me. I carefully looked up and saw a school of Yellowtail barracuda (Sphyraena sp.) undulating as one overhead.

Jinn Caves Opens its Secrets

This morning’s early dive started in a swirl of fishes along the vertical wall heading toward the entrance to Jinn Caves. A mild current tempted massive numbers of fish to feed. Countless prickly Dendronephthya soft corals, pumped up to full size, swayed back and forth. With the return of seasonally calm weather, visibility was again the typical 20 meters.

As I headed inside the wall at “The Bypass,” a wide area cut back into and behind the sheer wall, I spotted an unusual butterflyfish with three black diagonal bands, fluttering along the inside wall. This marks the first time that a Burgess’ butterflyfish (Chaetodon burgessi) has been seen here. This butterflyfish is found adjacent to steep drop offs, sometimes in large caves, and usually in water between 40 and 80 meters deep. The fish today was only at 20 meters. It is only known from eastern Indonesia to Palau and the Caroline Islands.

Heading into the cut of Jinn Caves is always spooky, and this morning was no exception. But after only a few seconds of swimming into the deep gloom, the eastern wall appeared, plastered with huge sponges and black coral. A Pinnate batfish (Platax pinnatus) too large for one skillet hurried out, followed by a pair of wary juveniles. Inside the cut the visibility was unusually good, so that both western and eastern walls were visible simultaneously. On the mud bottom below a thumb-size Bullock’s nudibranch (Chromodoris bullocki) waved its wildly purple body back and forth. A Zebra lionfish (Dendrochirus zebra) rested up side down under a sponge. A pair of Black-saddled tobies (Canthigaster valentini) eyed me nervously.

In less than a meter of water, groups of sparkling blue demoiselles gave startled looks at the dive mask that rose from the depths to the edge of their narrow, shallow home. This fish resembles the Blue devil (Chrysiptera cyanea) but the orange-tailed males all have a dark tail spot. This Gorontalo variation is not listed on Fish Base. What could it be? In the rubble at the surface one of the guys found the green coil of a spaghetti worm out of its burrow and a little crab that looks like a tuft of algae. What could it be? Jinn Caves dive site still holds many secrets.

Gorontalo Diving in Mandarin

Jolly Huang’s account of her December dive trip to Gorontalo is available for Mandarin speakers. Her article for Diving Taiwan web site includes her impressions of the pristine conditions of Gorontalo reefs and her ecstatic encounter with her dream photo subject, the illusive Teddy bear crab. There are one or two comments in English posted below her article. A selection of her photos is available for viewing, some of which also appear in various places on Miguel’s Diving web site.

She also has a write-up on the ProMOS Diving Club web site as well as a message board string on Gorontalo diving.